Map association with calendar entry

ABSTRACT

A map is associated with a calendar entry. An electronic calendar includes at least one calendar entry. The calendar entry includes at least one calendar entry location for indicating a geographic location of where the calendar entry is scheduled to occur. At least one option associated with the calendar entry is provided. In response to receiving a user selection of the option, a map associated with the calendar entry location is provided.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application relates to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/391,885, U.S.application Ser. No. 12/391,890, and U.S. application Ser. No.12/391,892, all of which are filed the same day as the presentapplication and all of which are incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

As communication mediums become more sophisticated, and socialnetworking becomes more prevalent, users demand more options by which tocommunicate with their contacts. Additionally, users desire morefunctionality with regard to calendars and address books to betterstreamline appointments, communications, etc. Further, as groups such asbusiness groups, athletic teams, social groups and/or other groups ofpeople associate, a technique for efficiently facilitating communicationamong the members of the groups is desired.

SUMMARY

Included are embodiments for associating a map with a calendar entry.More specifically, at least one embodiment of a method includesproviding an electronic calendar, the electronic calendar including atleast one calendar entry, the at least one calendar entry including atleast one calendar entry location for indicating a geographic locationof where the calendar entry is scheduled to occur. Some embodimentsinclude providing at least one option associated with the at least onecalendar entry and in response to receiving a user selection of the atleast one option, providing a map associated with the at least onecalendar entry location.

Also included are embodiments for a system. At least one embodiment of asystem includes a memory component that stores logic configured toprovide an electronic calendar, the electronic calendar including atleast one calendar entry, the at least one calendar entry including atleast one calendar entry location for indicating a geographic locationof where the calendar entry is scheduled to occur. In some embodiments,the memory component stores logic configured to provide at least oneoption associated with the at least one calendar entry and logicconfigured to, in response to receiving a user selection of the at leastone option, provide a map associated with the at least one calendarentry location.

Also included are embodiments of a computer-readable medium. At leastone embodiment of a computer-readable medium includes a program thatcauses a computer to provide an electronic calendar, the electroniccalendar including at least one calendar entry, the at least onecalendar entry including at least one calendar entry location forindicating a geographic location of where the calendar entry isscheduled to occur. In some embodiments, the program causes the computerto provide at least one option associated with the at least one calendarentry and in response to receiving a user selection of the at least oneoption, provide a map associated with the at least one calendar entrylocation.

Other embodiments and/or advantages of this disclosure will be or maybecome apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of thefollowing drawings and detailed description. It is intended that allsuch additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be includedwithin this description and be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. While several embodiments are described inconnection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit thedisclosure to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On thecontrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, andequivalents.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communications network forfacilitating communication between users.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a client device that may beconfigured to operate in the environment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a user interface for providingan address book, such as may be displayed on the client device from FIG.2.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a community wizard interface,which may be provided in response to selection of a create groupcommunity page option from FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a layout interface, which mayprovide customization options for creating a group community page,similar to the interface from FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a components interface forproviding additional customization options for the group community page,similar to the interface from FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an upload interface foruploading data to a created group community page, similar to theinterface from FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an address book interface,further illustrating a plurality of groups, similar to the interfacefrom FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a calendar interface, furtherillustrating creation of an event, similar to the interface from FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a month view calendarinterface, illustrating calendar overlay from a plurality of differentcalendars, similar to the interface from FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a community portal interfacefor providing event data to one or more group members, similar to thecalendar interface from FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an event interface,illustrating an event occurrence reminder, similar to the interface fromFIG. 11.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface, from FIG. 11, further illustrating communications mediumsavailable for group members.

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a click-to-conferenceinterface, which may be presented for participating in a conferencecall, similar to the interface from FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface from FIG. 11, further illustrating a dialog box that may bepresented in response to selection of an add to my calendar option.

FIG. 16 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface from FIG. 11, further illustrating searching capabilities thatmay be utilized.

FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface from FIG. 11, further illustrating an additional nonlimitingexample of searching capabilities that may be utilized.

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a photos section of thecommunity portal interface from FIG. 11.

FIG. 19 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an expanded video, which maybe provided in the photos section of the community portal interface,similar to the interface from FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a video section of thecommunity portal interface from FIG. 11.

FIG. 21 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a discussion section of thecommunity portal interface from FIG. 11.

FIG. 22 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface for accessinga community portal, similar to the community portal from FIG. 10.

FIG. 23 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface for providingone or more groups to which a user is a member, similar to the interfacefrom FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface for settingup a user account, similar to the interface from FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface for providinga calendar, similar to the interface from FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface for providinglocation information regarding an entry of the calendar from FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for creating a group, such as the group depicted in FIG. 8.

FIG. 28 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for adding an event to a calendar, such as the calendar fromFIG. 11.

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for placing a conference call, similar to the process from FIG.28.

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing location data regarding a calendar event, similarto the diagram from FIG. 29.

FIG. 31 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing a community portal for display, similar to thediagram from FIG. 30.

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for facilitating a voice communication between a device and acontact, similar to the diagram from FIG. 31.

FIG. 33 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing an overlay calendar, similar to the diagram fromFIG. 32.

FIG. 34 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing a map associated with a calendar entry location,similar to the diagram from FIG. 33.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communications network forfacilitating communication between users. More specifically, asillustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 1, a network 100 may beutilized and include a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, apublic switched telephone network (PSTN), mobile communications network(MCN) and/or other network. Similarly, the network 100 may include awireline and/or a wireless local area network (LAN). Regardless of thecommunications medium and protocol, the network 100 may be coupled toone or more client devices 102 a, 102 b, 102 c. The client devices 102a, 102 b, 102 c (collectively referred to as client device 102) mayinclude a personal computer, laptop, and/or other device that isconfigured for communicating with (and via) the network 100. While theclient devices 102 a, 102 b may be wireline devices, the client device102 c may be configured for wireless communications and be configured tocommunicate with (and/or via) the network 100 via an access point 110 orother wireless communications device. The access point may be configuredas a wireless cellular tower, a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) hotspot, aworldwide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) tower, and/orother wireless node.

Also included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 1 are servers 106 a and106 b. The servers 106 a and 106 b may be configured to facilitate thecommunication of electronic messages, which may include email, instantmessages, short message service (SMS) messages audio messages, videomessages, and/or other electronic messages. In some embodiments, theserver 106 a may be part of an Internet service provider (ISP) and/orotherwise be configured to provide messaging and/or Internet services toan account associated with the client device 102 a. Similarly, in someembodiments, the servers 106 may be configured to provide messagingservices to one or more accounts associated with client devices 102 band 102 c.

One should note that, while the diagram of FIG. 1 illustrates theservers 106 a, 106 b as single components, this is a nonlimitingexample. More specifically, depending on the particular configuration,the servers 106 a, 106 b may include a plurality of servers, datastorage components, and/or other components. Additionally, while thediscussion with regard to FIG. 1 describes embodiments where messagesare sent via the servers 106 a, 106 b, this is also a nonlimitingexample, as in some embodiments, the servers may facilitate acommunication pathway between the message sender and message recipient,but may be configured to receive only a copy of the messages sent.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a client device 102 that maybe configured to operate in the environment of FIG. 1. Although awire-line device (e.g., the client device 102 a) is illustrated, thisdiscussion can be applied to wireless devices, as well. According toexemplary embodiments, in terms of hardware architecture, the clientdevice 102 includes a processor 282, a memory component 284, a displayinterface 294, data storage 295, one or more input and/or output (I/O)device interface(s) 296, and/or one or more network interfaces 298 thatare communicatively coupled via a local interface 292. The localinterface 292 can include, for example but not limited to, one or morebuses and/or other wired or wireless connections. The local interface292 may have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, suchas controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers toenable communications. Further, the local interface 292 may includeaddress, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriatecommunications among the aforementioned components. The processor 282may be a device for executing software, particularly software stored inthe memory component 284. The processor 282 can include any custom madeor commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), anauxiliary processor among several processors associated with the clientdevice 102, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of amicrochip or chip set), a macroprocessor, and/or generally any devicefor executing software instructions.

The memory component 284 can include any one or combination of volatilememory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM,SDRAM, etc.)) and/or nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., flash memory,read only memory (ROM), hard drive, tape, CDROM, etc.). Moreover, thememory component 284 may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical,and/or other types of storage media. One should note that the memorycomponent 284 can have a distributed architecture (where variouscomponents are situated remote from one another), but can be accessed bythe processor 282.

The software in the memory component 284 may include one or moreseparate programs, which may include an ordered listing of executableinstructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of FIG.2, the software in the memory component 284 may include portal logic 299(which may include one or more logical components), as well as anoperating system 286. The operating system 286 may be configured tocontrol the execution of other computer programs and providesscheduling, input-output control, file and data management, memorymanagement, and communication control and related services. The portallogic 299 may be configured to facilitate communication of one or moremessages (emails, instant messages, SMS messages, faxes, and/or othermessages), facilitate creation of and/or participation in a group and/orgroup community portal. Additionally, the portal logic 299 may beconfigured to provide other options, as discussed in more detail below.

In at least one embodiment, the portal logic 299 may be configured as asystem component and/or module embodied as software and may also beconstrued as a source program, executable program (object code), script,and/or any other entity that includes a set of instructions to beperformed. When constructed as a source program, portal logic 299 may betranslated via a compiler, assembler, interpreter, or the like (whichmay or may not be included within the memory component 284) so as tooperate properly in connection with the operating system 286.

The input/output devices that may be coupled to the system I/Ointerface(s) 296 may include input devices, for example but not limitedto, a keyboard, mouse, scanner, touch screen, microphone, etc. Further,the input/output devices may also include output devices, for examplebut not limited to, a printer, display, speaker, etc. Additionally, theinput/output devices may further include devices that communicate bothas inputs and outputs, for instance but not limited to, amodulator/demodulator (modem; for accessing another device, system, ornetwork), a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonicinterface, a bridge, a router, etc.

Additionally included are one or more of the network interfaces 298 forfacilitating communication with one or more other devices. Morespecifically, network interface 298 may include any component configuredto facilitate a connection with another device. While in someembodiments, among others, the client device 102 can include the networkinterface 298 that includes a personal computer memory cardinternational association (PCMCIA) card (also abbreviated as “PC card”)for receiving a wireless network card, this is a nonlimiting example.Other configurations can include the communications hardware within theclient device 102, such that a wireless network card is unnecessary forcommunicating wirelessly. Similarly, other embodiments include thenetwork interfaces 298 for communicating via a wired connection. Suchinterfaces may be configured with Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces,serial ports, and/or other interfaces.

If the client device 102 includes a personal computer, workstation, orthe like, the software in the memory component 284 may further include abasic input output system (BIOS) (omitted for simplicity). The BIOS is aset of software routines that initialize and test hardware at startup,start the operating system 286, and support the transfer of data amongthe hardware devices. The BIOS is stored in ROM so that the BIOS can beexecuted when the client device 102 is activated.

When the client device 102 is in operation, the processor 282 may beconfigured to execute software stored within the memory component 284,to communicate data to and from the memory component 284, and togenerally control operations of the client device 102 pursuant to thesoftware. Software in the memory component 284, in whole or in part, maybe read by the processor 282, perhaps buffered within the processor 282,and then executed.

One should also note that while the description with respect to FIG. 2includes the client device 102 as a single component, this is anonlimiting example. More specifically, in at least one embodiment, theclient device 102 can include a plurality of servers, personalcomputers, telephones, and/or other devices. Similarly, while thedescription of FIG. 2 describes the client device 102 as a personalcomputer, this is also a nonlimiting example. More specifically,depending on the particular exemplary embodiment, other components, suchas the servers 106 and/or the access point 110 may include similarelements and/or logic.

Additionally, while the portal logic 299 is illustrated in FIG. 2 asincluding a single software component, this is also a nonlimitingexample. In at least one embodiment, the portal logic 299 may includeone or more components, embodied in software, hardware, and/or firmware.Additionally, while the portal logic 299 is depicted as residing on asingle device, such as client device 102, the portal logic 299 mayinclude one or more components residing on one or more differentdevices.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 320 forproviding an address book, such as may be displayed on the client devicefrom FIG. 2. More specifically, the user interface 320 may be providedby the client device 102 (and/or, depending on the nonlimiting example,from the server 106) from FIG. 1. While in some embodiments, the userinterface 320 may be provided by a local application, with contacts,appointments, etc. being stored at the client device 102, someembodiments may utilize a “cloud” application, where contacts,appointments, and other data are stored at a remote server (e.g., server106) and accessible by any of a plurality of client devices 102 (e.g.,the user has access to the same data via a plurality of differentdevices). Such a cloud application may have a related local applicationstored at the client device 102 for initiating communication with theserver 106; however, this is a nonlimiting example, as the server 106may be configured to provide a web interface that utilizes no such localapplication.

Included with the user interface 320 is an actions toolbar 322, whichmay include an address book menu 324, a calendar menu 326, a sync menu328, and a preferences menu 330. The address book menu 324 may includean all contacts heading 332 that includes one or more sub-headings forgroups of the user. A group may include one or more contacts from theall contacts heading 332 (or from elsewhere). Additionally, the addressbook menu 324 may also include an add contact heading 334, an add groupheading 336, and a manage groups heading 338.

In operation, by selecting the all contacts heading 332, a user'scontacts may be displayed. Similarly, by selecting a sub-heading, suchas the carpool sub-heading 341, the contacts designated to group carpoolmay be provided to the user. Similarly, by selecting the add contactheading 334, a new contact may be added to the all contacts category 332and/or to a group of contacts listed in the sub-headings. By selectingthe manage groups heading 338, existing group settings may be changed.Similarly, by selecting the add group heading 336, a new group may beadded, via the add groups window 340.

The add groups window 340 may facilitate the addition of one or moregroups by providing a text prompt 342 for a user to enter a group name.Additionally, the user can select whether the group will be associatedwith a group community page via a group community page option 344. Ifthe user does not desire a group community page for this group, the usermay simply add the group by selecting an add group option 346. This willcause the group to be added to the address book menu 324, as a newsub-heading. If, however, the user desires to associate the group with agroup community page, the user may select the group community pageoption 344 and select the community wizard option 348, described in moredetail with regard to FIGS. 4-7. In such a scenario, the group may becreated in the address book menu 324, as a new sub-heading. In addition,a link to a group community page may also be created for members to thegroup to access.

Also included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 3 is a quickbar 350.The quickbar 350 may include one or more default and/or user-createdoptions, such as a text search option, an add option (for addingcontacts, calendar entries, etc.), a form search option, a sync option,and a help option.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a community wizard interface420, which may be provided in response to selection of a create groupcommunity page option 344 from FIG. 3. As illustrated in the nonlimitingexample of FIG. 4, the community wizard option 348 from FIG. 3 may yielda wizard introduction window 420 for guiding the user through a processof creating a group community page. By selecting a next option 422, thewizard may proceed to provide one or more layout options, as illustratedin FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a layout interface, which mayprovide customization options for creating a group community page,similar to the interface from FIG. 4. As illustrated in the nonlimitingexample of FIG. 5, the community wizard may provide a layoutconfiguration window 520 for designing and/or selecting the groupcommunity page layout according to one or more templated (and/or userdesigned) layouts. By selecting one or more of the provided layouttemplates, the group community page will be created with thecorresponding organization. Additionally provided in the layoutconfiguration window 520 is a restriction option 522 to determinewhether the user wishes to restrict access to the group community pageto members only or whether no such restriction is desired. By selectinga next option 524, the wizard may proceed to determine additionaloptions of the group community page.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a components selection window620 for providing additional customization options for the groupcommunity page, similar to the interface from FIG. 5. As illustrated inthe nonlimiting example of FIG. 6, a components selection window 620 maybe provided. More specifically, with the selected layout form FIG. 5,the user may determine a category for the group community page via acategory option 622.

While other predetermined and/or user selected category groups may beprovided, a nonlimiting example of categories may include, sports,religious, community, club, academic, hobby, family, business, andnon-profit organization.

Additionally included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 6 are optionsfor discussions 624, weather 626, a resource description framework (RDF)site summary (RSS) reader 628, members 630, and/or other options may beprovided for inclusion in the group community page. More specifically,by selecting the weather option, a weather feed will be included in thegroup community page at a predetermined location. The weather feed maybe customized such that the group community page displays currentweather of a predetermined location, future weather of the predeterminedlocation, current weather of a group calendar event location, futureweather of a group calendar event location, and/or other data.

Similarly, an advertisement option 632 may be provided for includingadvertisements in the group community page. Depending on the particularconfiguration, the advertisement option 632 may or may not be userselectable. More specifically, the advertisement option 632 may beconfigured to allow a user to pay a fee (or otherwise providecompensation) to an entity that is providing the group community page.In receipt of the compensation, the providing entity may not includeadvertisements on the group community page for this group.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the user may not be provided with anoption to not include advertisements on the group community page.

Accordingly, if the user selects the advertisement option 632 (or is notprovided with the option to opt-out from receiving advertisements), theproviding entity may determine advertisements that correspond with theselected group category from category option 622 to provide directedadvertisements to that group community page. Similarly, the providingentity may determine other criteria for the group (e.g., events, eventlocations, etc.) to provide directed advertising. Also included is asave option 634 for saving the current settings.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an upload window 720 foruploading data to a created group community page, similar to thecomponents selection window 620, from FIG. 6. More specifically, anupload window 720 may be provided for uploading one or more differenttypes of data to the group community page. As illustrated, a logo option722 may be configured to facilitate uploading of a group logo for thegroup community page. The logo may be received as text, an image, video,audio, and/or any combination. Upon uploading the logo, the logo may beplaced in a predetermined place on the group community page to identifyof the group. Additionally, depending on the particular configuration,editing options may be provided to the user to change the location orappearance of the uploaded logo.

Similarly, a video option 724 may be provided in the upload window 720.The video option may be configured to facilitate upload of one or morevideos for providing in a video portion of the group community page, asdiscussed in more detail below. A photos option 726 may facilitateupload of one or more photos for providing in a photos portion of thegroup community page. An RSS feeds option 728 may be included forfacilitating upload of one or more RSS feeds. Also included is a sharedcalendar option 730 for viewing a shared calendar for the group.

Additionally included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 7 are an adminoptions option 734, a calendar options option 736, and an other optionsoption 738. More specifically, the admin options option 734 can provideone or more options regarding whether the community group will have anadministrator, whether the user will be the administrator, and/or rightsprovided to the administrator. As a nonlimiting example, if the group isa soccer team, the user (who is the coach) might desire to also be theadministrator, to easily indicate that a practice has been canceled.Similarly, as the administrator, the user may desire that other members(e.g., players, parents, and others) cannot override administratorsettings, events, announcements, etc. Further, in at least one exemplaryembodiment, the administrator can override personal member settings toview members' presence, location, etc.

Similarly, the calendar options option 736 may include one or moreoptions for configuring the group community portal calendar. As anonlimiting example, calendar options may include general visibility ofindividual events (e.g., whether a first member can see an eventscheduled between a second member and a third member), defaultnotification settings, member access to change an event (which may alsocorrespond to the administrator options, discussed above), and/or otheroptions. The other options option 738 may be configured to providemiscellaneous options that are not otherwise provided. A finish option732 may be configured to complete creation of the group community page.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an address book interface 820,further illustrating a plurality of groups, similar to the upload window720 from FIG. 7. As illustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 8,the address book interface 820 may be configured to provide a contactslisting 830 that is configured to provide all contacts of a user. In thecontacts listing 830, contact information for one or more contacts maybe provided, as well as presence information associated with one or moreaddresses of the contacts.

As discussed above, in the all contacts heading 332 (FIG. 3) are listedone or more groups for this user. The groups may be listed with one ormore signifiers (834, 836). More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 8,the cycling friends group 832 is associated with a first signifier 834to indicate that access is restricted to members of the group.Additionally, a second signifier 836 listed with the cycling friendsgroup 832 indicates that this group is associated with a group communitypage. By selecting the first signifier 834, the user may be providedwith authentication information. By selecting the second signifier, thegroup community page may be launched.

Additionally included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 8 is aconference option 840. More specifically, as a nonlimiting example, if auser wishes to communicate with one or more contacts, the user can dragand drop the contacts to the conference option 840. The user can thenselect the conference option to facilitate the communication. Asdescribed below with regard to FIGS. 13 and 14, the user can thenindicate an originating address prior to connecting the communication.

Similarly, in at least one exemplary embodiment, the user can select oneor more of the contacts in the contacts listing 830 (e.g., via a leftmouse click while holding a “ctrl” key). The user may then indicate adesire to communicate with the selected contacts (e.g., via a rightmouse click and a selection a command “connect”). The communication maythen be facilitated as described above.

Further, at least one exemplary embodiment may provide the user theoption to simply right click (or otherwise select) a group. Uponselecting the group, all (or a predetermined subset) of members arecontacted, as described above.

Similarly, if the user desires to send a message (e.g., an email,instant message, SMS message, etc.) the user may take similar actions.Regardless of the actions taken, in at least one embodiment, the messageis sent to the contact's address where that contact is currently present(and/or based on predefined preferences of the contact).

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a calendar interface 920,further illustrating creation of an event, similar to the address bookinterface 820 from FIG. 8. More specifically, the calendar interface 920may include a calendar menu 926, with sub-menus for month, as well asfor one or more of the groups. Additionally included is an add eventoption 928 for adding an event to the calendar. Further, options toprovide a weekly view, daily view, etc. of one or more of the calendarsmay also be provided.

In response to a selection of the add event option 928, an add eventform 927 may be provided. More specifically, the add event form 927 mayinclude a calendar selection option 930 to allow a user selection ofwhether and to which group calendar the event should be listed. Byselecting the cycling friends group, the event will be saved in thecycling friends calendar and, depending on the particular nonlimitingexample, provided in the cycling friends group community page.

Additionally included in the add event form 927 is a title field 932, alocation field 934, a details field 936, a start time field 938, and anend time field 940. Further, a notify of changes option 942 is includedand may be configured to determine whether changes to this event will besent to other members of the group. As a nonlimiting example, if thegroup is a soccer team and the event is a practice, the coach may wishto notify members of the group that the practice time has changed; thepractice has been canceled, etc. Similarly, a weather notificationoption 944 may also be included for determining whether group memberswill be alerted of inclement weather around the time of the event andaround the location of the event. Additionally included are a phonenumber field 946 and a city and state field 948. Changes to the eventmay be saved by selection of the save option 950.

One should note that, depending on the particular configuration, eachgroup may have a separate calendar. The calendars may be accessed viathe calendar menu 926 and/or, depending on the particular group, via thegroup community page associated with that group. Additionally, one ormore of the group calendars may overlay a general group calendar forthat particular user, thus providing a combined calendar for generalindividual events (e.g., those not associated with a group), as well asgroup events.

One should also note that reminder options may also be provided for thecreated event. More specifically, in at least one embodiment, the usermay be provided an option to indicate when and how a reminder will bepresented to the user for this event. However, some embodiments may beconfigured to automatically determine when to provide the user with thereminder. As a nonlimiting example, in some embodiments, a determinationcan be made of the user's location at a given point in time (e.g., via apositioning system in a device to which the user is present). Based onthe determined user location and the indicated location of the event, adetermination can be made regarding the approximate amount of time itwill take the user to arrive at the indicated location. A reminder timecan then be calculated from this estimated time. The reminder can thenautomatically be sent at the calculated time (and/or a predeterminedtime before the calculated time).

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an address book calendarinterface 1020 (also referred to as a local calendar interface),illustrating calendar overlay from a plurality of different calendars,similar to the calendar interface 920 from FIG. 9. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 10, the view calendar interface 1020 mayinclude a month sub-menu 1022 for displaying a calendar interface 1024.More specifically, the calendar interface 1024 may display events fromthe general user calendar, as well as from one or more of the groupcalendars. Depending on the particular configuration, user options maybe provided for selecting which group calendars are displayed (and/orwhether individual events or group events are displayed). Additionally,the groups 1026 may each be associated with a different color, shading,and/or other marking. Thus, the “Practice” event on Thursday, November1, is associated with the soccer team group. Other groups are alsorepresented in the calendar interface 1024.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a community portal interface1120 for providing event data to one or more group members, similar tothe view calendar interface 1020 from FIG. 10. As illustrated, thecommunity portal interface 1120 may be configured as discussed withregard to FIGS. 3-7. More specifically, the community portal interface1120 may be provided by a third party website and may be configuredaccording to the specified layout from FIG. 5 and the options selectedfrom FIG. 6. Additionally, a group logo 1122 may be placed in thecommunity portal interface 1120. A weather area 1124, an RSS feed 1126,and a members listing 1128 may also be provided.

Also included in the members listing 1128 are a listing one or more ofthe group members, as well as contact information, subscriptioninformation, etc. for the listed group members. From the members listing1128, the user can contact one or more of the group members via aplurality of different actions. As a nonlimiting example, a user mayselect one or more of the members in members listing 1128 (e.g., via aleft mouse click while holding a “ctrl” key). The user may then indicatea desire to contact the selected members (e.g., via a right mouse clickand a selection a command “connect”). Other configurations may providethat the user simply drag and drop members from the members listing 1128into a designated area. Other configurations are also contemplated.

Also included in the community portal interface 1120 are advertisements1130 a-1130 d. More specifically, the advertisements 1130 may bedirected advertisements based on calendar events, group category, groupmembers (e.g., if there are multiple doctors in the group,advertisements may be directed to products that doctors prefer),geographic location, etc. The community portal interface 1120 may alsoinclude a search bar 1132 for providing additional searching options, aswell as providing additional revenue for the providing entity.

In a center portion of the community portal interface 1120 is a groupcalendar interface 1134 that corresponds to a calendar tab 1136. Alsoincluded are a photos tab 1138, a video tab 1140, and a discussion tab1142. The group calendar interface 1134 may also include group eventsthat have been scheduled for group members and/or the group as a whole.More specifically, depending on the particular embodiment, a groupmember can create an even that will be included in the group calendar.Such an event creation may be facilitated by a local applicationinterface such as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 by a web interface, suchas the web interface from FIG. 11).

Again, depending on the particular configuration, a member of the groupcan create only individual events for the calendar, whereas the groupadministrator (if the group has an administrator) can create individualevents, as well as group events. As a nonlimiting example, if the groupis a soccer team and the administrator is the coach of that team, thecoach may be designated as the group administrator. Accordingly, thecoach (administrator) can schedule individual events (e.g., meeting withBobby), as well as group events (e.g., game against the Flyers). In thisnonlimiting example, group members (and nonmembers) who are not theadministrator can only create individual events (e.g., meeting withCoach), but not group events. Similarly, some embodiments may allow allmembers of the group to add, amend, and/or delete both individual andgroup events from the calendar.

Also included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 11 is an add to mycalendar option 1144 and an export data option 1146. More specifically,depending on the nonlimiting example, if a user has an account with thecommunity portal provider (e.g., the ISP or other entity), by selectingthe add to my calendar option 1144, the entries from the communityportal interface 1120 will automatically be configured for display on alocal calendar, such as the calendar from FIG. 10. Similarly, if themember is not an account holder with the community portal provider, theuser may select the export data option 1146. By selecting the exportdata option 1146, a file may be exported to the client device 102 forimportation into a local calendar.

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an event interface 1220,illustrating an event occurrence reminder, similar to the communityportal interface 1120 from FIG. 11. As illustrated in the nonlimitingexample of FIG. 12, the event interface 1220 may correspond to areminder on the calendar of the selected group. The event interface 1220may include data as provided in the event form 927 from FIG. 9 (and/ordata provided for an event created via the community portal interface1120). Additionally, a directed advertisement 1222 may be provided thatcorresponds to the event, event location, and/or other data.

One should note that while the event interface 1220 is provided to theuser while logged onto the community portal interface, some embodimentsmay be configured such that the user is informed of the event via one ormore of the addresses associated with the group. As a nonlimitingexample, the user may designate a cell phone number as the primaryaddress to the group. Accordingly, the event notification (displayed asthe event interface 1220) may be provided as a text message, voicemessage, video message, etc. to the cell phone number. Again, dependingon the determined user settings, other addresses may also be alerted.Similarly, in at least one embodiment, if it is determined (via globalpositioning or other positioning systems) that the user is currentlylocated at the event at the designated time, the event notification maybe prevented from presentation to the user.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface 1120, from FIG. 11, further illustrating communicationsmediums available for group members. As illustrated in the nonlimitingexample of FIG. 13, the community portal interface includes the memberslisting 1128, where the members may be listed by status, name, and/oraccording to a custom order. As discussed above, the members listing1128 may include a listing of contact addresses for each of the listedmembers. As a nonlimiting example, Yakun Gao may be reached by emailand/or cellular phone (indicated by the highlighted envelope and cellphone icon), but is currently unavailable via text message and is notcurrently logged onto the community portal (indicated by the grayed textbubble and globe icon). Accordingly, to begin a communication with oneor more of the members, the user can drag and drop one or more iconscorresponding to those members into the contact box 1330. Once alldesired contacts have been dropped into the contact box 1330, the usercan select the contact box 1330 to begin the communication. Similarly,as discussed above, the user can select a contact and right click toinitiate communication.

Similarly, if the user desires to send a message (e.g., an email,instant message, SMS message, etc.) to a member (and/or nonmember) theuser may take similar actions. Regardless of the actions taken, in atleast one embodiment, the message is sent to the contact's address wherethat contact is currently present (and/or based on predefinedpreferences of the contact).

Additionally, depending on the particular configuration, the user candetermine how to contact the selected members and/or the portal logic299 can determine how to contact the selected members. Morespecifically, in at least one exemplary embodiment, the user can selectthe members (and/or nonmembers) that he/she wants to contact. Uponselecting contact box 1330, the user may be prompted regarding themechanism for contacting the selected members (e.g., cell phone, email,short messaging system (SMS) message, instant message, etc.). Similarly,some embodiments may be configured such that the user can select themembers (and/or nonmembers) to contact, and the portal logic candetermine the best technique for contacting the selected members (and/ornonmembers). As a nonlimiting example, the determination may be made onpresence and/or user preferences selected by that member (and/ornonmember).

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a click-to-conferenceinterface, which may be presented for participating in a conferencecall, similar to the interface from FIG. 13. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 14, in response to selection of the contactbox 1330 (and/or otherwise indicating a desire to conference membersand/or nonmembers of a group), a prompt box 1420 may be presented fordesignating an originating address for the communication. Morespecifically, upon entering the desired originating address, thecommunication can be facilitated between the originating address and thedesignated members/nonmembers. As a nonlimiting example, if the userenters a cell phone number as the originating address, the cell phonemay ring. Upon answering the cell phone, the user will be connected tothe members/nonmembers designated for the conference call. Additionally,while in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 14, the address is designatedas a telephone number, the address may include a telephone number(including cell phone number), an email address, an instant messagingaddress, and/or other address.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface 1120 from FIG. 11, further illustrating a dialog box that maybe presented, in response to selection of the add to my calendar option1144. As illustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 15, if a groupmember (or nonmember) is not an account holder of the community portalsystem and the member (or nonmember) selects the add to my calendaroption 1144 (FIG. 11), the member (or nonmember) may be presented withthe popup window 1520 indicating that such a feature is available onlyto account holders. Similarly, depending on the particularconfiguration, similar popup windows may be presented for other options.

FIG. 16 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface 1120 from FIG. 11, further illustrating searching capabilitiesthat may be utilized. As illustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG.16, the search bar 1132 may be configured to allow users search optionsfor searching the community portal and/or the Internet, as a whole.Additionally, as agreements can be negotiated with the searcher, thesearch bar 1132 may be utilized as an additional revenue producer forthe community portal.

FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the community portalinterface 1120 from FIG. 11, further illustrating an additionalnonlimiting example of searching capabilities that may be utilized. Asillustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 17, the search bar 1132may also include a search authority option 1730 for selecting from aplurality of different search authorities.

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a photos section of thecommunity portal interface 1120 from FIG. 11. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 18, the community portal interface 1120includes the photos tab 1138, which, when selected, can provide photos1830 associated with the group, as well as options to add, delete,amend, and/or organize photos. While in at least one embodiment, thephotos 1830 may only be uploaded by the administrator, some embodimentsmay be configured such that any member of the group (and/or nonmembers)can upload photos via selection of an upload option 1832. Similarly, afavorite pics option 1834 and team pics option 1836 can provide otherphotos associated with the group. Additionally, photos can be deletedvia selection of a delete option 1838. Photos may be organized viaselection of an organize option 1840.

FIG. 19 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an expanded video, which maybe provided in the photos section of the community portal interface1120, similar to the interface from FIG. 18. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 19, the community portal interface 1120includes the video tab 1140 for providing one or more videos 1930.Additionally included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 19 is an addoption 1932 for adding videos, a comment option 1934 for commenting onuploaded videos, as well as a favorite vids option 1936 and a team vidsoption 1936 for viewing videos of different categories. Also included isa delete option 1940 and an organize option 1942.

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a video section of thecommunity portal interface 1120 from FIG. 11. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 20, the community portal interface 1120 maybe configured to provide a video of the week 2030 under the video tab1140. More specifically, the video of the week may be determined by thegroup administrator, via a vote of group members and/or via other ways.Additionally, the video of the week may be accessed via the favoritevids option 1936, from FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a discussion section of thecommunity portal interface from FIG. 11. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 21, the community portal interface 1120 alsoincludes a discussion board 2130 that may be accessed by selecting thediscussion tab 1142. In the discussion board 2130 members (and/ornonmembers) may post topics for discussion. Members (and/or nonmembers)can add message threads via selection of new topic option 2132.Additionally, members (and/or nonmembers) can view message threads byselecting an existing message thread 2132 a-2132 i. Similarly, members(and/or nonmembers) can search message threads via option 2134.

FIG. 22 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface 2220 foraccessing a community portal, similar to the community portal interface1120 from FIG. 11. More specifically, some nonlimiting examplesdiscussed above describe the community portal interface 1120 beingaccessed from a local application (e.g., FIG. 8) via selection of thesecond signifier 836. However, some embodiments may be configured toaccess the community portal interface 1120 via a web application, suchas illustrated in FIG. 22. As illustrated in FIG. 22, the web interface2220 may include an account login page 2222 to access one or more of thegroup community pages. More specifically, the account login page 2222may include a customer login portion 2224 for allowing customers of thecommunity portal provider to login. By logging in under the customerlogin portion 2224, the user may be provided more customization and/orbe permitted to view, upload, and/or download information that is onlyavailable to customers.

Also included in the account login page 2222 is a general login portion2226. The general login portion 2226 can allow any user to simply enteran address (e.g., email address, instant messaging address telephonenumber, etc.) to access group community pages to which that address is amember. Depending on whether a group requires authentication to accessthe group community page, a password (or other authenticator mechanism)may be required. Also included is a register option 2228 for registeringuser information.

FIG. 23 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface 2320 forproviding one or more groups to which a user is a member, similar to theinterface from FIG. 22. As illustrated in the nonlimiting example ofFIG. 23, the web interface 2320 may be configured to provide a list ofgroups that to which the user is a member. As a nonlimiting example,after logging into the community portal page from FIG. 22, the user maybe provided with a list of one or more groups to which the user is amember. The list may be a selectable list, such that upon selection of agroup, the user may be directed to the group community page associatedwith that group.

FIG. 24 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an account setup interface2420 for setting up a user account, similar to the interface from FIG.22. As illustrated, the account setup interface of FIG. 24 may bereached by selection of the register option 2228 from FIG. 22. Morespecifically the account setup interface 2420 may include one or moreoptions for setting up user preferences for one or more group communitypages. As a nonlimiting example, setup options may include a usernameand password option 2432 and a contact addresses option 2436. Theusername and password option 2432 provide the user with an option toenter desired login information. Additionally, the contact addressesoption 2436 can receive contact addresses, as well as the type ofcontact address (e.g., cell phone, email address, etc.) for reaching theuser. Upon entering a contact address, groups to which that user is amember may be displayed in the current groups window 2434. Additionallyincluded is a preferences option 2438. By selecting the preferencesoption 2438, the user may be presented with options regarding contactingthe user. More specifically, such options may include an option torestrict contact to certain times, dates, and/or addresses, an option todetermine a contact order of the listed addresses, and/or other options.

Also included in the account setup interface 2420 are calendar options.As a nonlimiting example, the account setup interface 2420 may includenotification options 2440 to determine where notifications are sent(e.g., based on presence, based on a predetermined order, etc.), hownotifications are sent (e.g., text message, audio message, videomessage, picture message, etc.), and when notifications are sent (e.g.,a predetermined time before, automatically based on current location,etc.), and/or other options. Similarly, calendar options may includeevent visibility options 2442. As a nonlimiting example event visibilityoptions 2442 may include options for the user's calendar events to bevisible to all members of the group, options for other members' calendarevents to be visible to the user, and/or other visibility options.

Additionally included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 24 are groupmember options. More specifically, presence options 2444 may be providedfor determining whether to show presence, for what devices/addresses toshow presence, to show location, for what devices/addresses to showlocation, and/or other options presence options. Additionally, otheroptions 2446 may also be included. Also included is option 2448 forutilizing the settings selected for all groups to which the user is amember.

FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface 2520 forproviding a calendar, similar to the interface from FIG. 23. Asillustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 25, the web interface2520 may be accessed via selection of a group provided from FIG. 23, viaselection of the second signifier 836 from FIG. 8, and/or via otheractions. Similar to the group calendar interface 1134 from FIG. 11, webinterface 2520 is configured to provide a calendar interface 2530 thatincludes one or more groups to which the user is a member. Morespecifically, the calendar interface 2530 may include events for one ormore groups in a single layout. Additionally, by selecting one or moreof the groups listed in area 2532, the user can determine which groupsare currently being displayed. Thus, while the user may navigate to agroup community page, the user may be provided with all events for thatgroup (both individual and group events) while still having accessindividual events from other groups. Further, similar functionality maybe provided with the calendar interface 1024 from FIG. 10. Similarly,some embodiments allow for a single calendar that includes bothindividual and group events for all groups.

Also included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 25 is a selectablelocation signifier 2534. A selectable location signifier 2534 may beassociated with each event and may be configured to provide locationinformation related to the corresponding event, as described withreference to FIG. 25.

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a web interface for providinglocation information regarding an entry of the calendar from FIG. 25. Asillustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 26, in response toselection of the selectable location signifier 2534 from FIG. 25, theuser may be presented with a map of the location of the event.Additionally, in some embodiments, based on a determined current userlocation, directions and approximate time to reach the event can beprovided to the user with the map.

Further, depending on the particular configuration, the administrator(and/or other users) may have access to calendar events of members ofthe group. Accordingly, by selecting the selectable location signifier2532, the administrator may be able to determine location andapproximate time of arrival for one or more members of the group to theevent. As a nonlimiting example, if the group is a soccer team and thecoach is the administrator, in some embodiments the coach can select agroup event (and/or individual event of a player on the team) such as agame with the Flyers and view the members that are party to that event(in this nonlimiting example, the entire team). Additionally, the coachcan view where the players are and when they are expected to arrive atthe field.

FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for creating a group, such as the group depicted in FIG. 8. Asillustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 27, a request to create agroup can be received (e.g., at the portal logic 299-block 2732). Thiscan be received at client device 102 and/or server 106. Additionally, auser can be prompted to determine whether to create a group communitypage associated with the group (block 2734). A determination can be madewhether to create a group community page (block 2736). If adetermination is made to not create a group community page, the groupcan be added to the address book (block 2738). If, however, adetermination is made to create a group community page, the user can beprompted to determine group community page settings (block 2740). Thegroup community page can be created with the determined settings (block2742). Additionally, the group can be added to the address book with alink to the created group community page (block 2744).

FIG. 28 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for adding an event to a calendar, such as the calendar fromFIG. 11. As illustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 28, anindication to create a calendar event may be received (e.g., a theportal logic 299) from a user (block 2832). Additionally, event detailsfor the event may be received from the user (block 2834). Adetermination can then be made regarding whether the received eventcorresponds to a group (block 2836). If a determination is made that thereceived event does not correspond to a group, the event can be added toa general calendar (block 2838). However, if a determination is madethat the event corresponds to a group, a determination can be maderegarding whether the event corresponds to a group community page (block2840). In response to a determination that the event does not correspondto a group community page, the event can be added to a group calendar,which overlays the general calendar (block 2842). If, at block 2840, adetermination is made that the event does correspond to a groupcommunity page, the event can be added to the group calendar, whichoverlays the general calendar (block 2844). The event may also be addedto the group community page calendar (block 2846).

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for placing a conference call, similar to the process from FIG.27. As illustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 29, a group can beprovided (e.g., via the portal logic 299), where the group includes oneor more group members and at least a portion of the one or more groupmembers have a contact address, and where at least a portion of the oneor more group members are listed in an address book (block 2932).Additionally, an option to facilitate a conference call can be providedto at least one of the one or more group members (block 2934). A userindication to facilitate a conference call at least a portion of the oneor more group members may be received via a drag and drop selection ofthe group members from the address book (block 2936). Additionally, theat least one selected group members can be conference called via therespective contact address (block 2938).

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing location data regarding a calendar event, similarto the diagram from FIG. 28. As illustrated in the nonlimiting exampleof FIG. 30, a general calendar can be provided (e.g., via the portallogic 299), where the general calendar includes at least one generalevent, and where the general calendar includes at least one group event(block 3032). A location of at least one of the general events can bedetermined (block 3034). Additionally, an option may be provided in thegeneral calendar to provide location data associated with the determinedlocation (block 3036). A receive request for the location data can bereceived (block 3038). The location data can then be provided (block3040).

FIG. 31 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing a community portal for display, similar to thediagram from FIG. 30. More specifically, as illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 31, the portal logic 299 can provide dataassociated with an address book interface, the address book interfaceincluding at least one contact associated with a first group, theaddress book interface may further include an option to launch acommunity portal interface from the address book interface, thecommunity portal interface being configured to provide a first groupcommunity page for members of the group (block 3132). Additionally, theportal logic 299 can launch the community portal interface from theaddress book interface to provide the first group community page (block3134). The portal logic 299 may also provide the community portalinterface for display (block 3136).

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for facilitating a voice communication between a device and acontact, similar to the diagram from FIG. 31. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 32, the portal logic 299 can provide a userinterface via a first device, the user interface including a listing ofa plurality of contacts (block 3232). The portal logic 299 may receivean indication to initiate a voice communication with at least one of thecontacts, where the indication is received via the user interface (block3234). Additionally, the portal logic 299 can facilitate the voicecommunication between a second device and the at least one of thecontacts (block 3236).

FIG. 33 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing an overlay calendar, similar to the diagram fromFIG. 32. As illustrated in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 33, theportal logic 299 can provide a first calendar that includes a firstevent (block 3332). The portal logic 299 can provide a second calendarthat includes a second event (block 3334). Additionally, the portallogic 299 can provide a unified calendar interface for providing thefirst event and the second event, where the unified calendar isconfigured as an overlay with the first calendar and the second calendar(block 3336).

FIG. 34 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process that may beutilized for providing a map associated with a calendar entry location,similar to the diagram from FIG. 33. As illustrated in the nonlimitingexample of FIG. 34, the portal logic 299 can provide an electroniccalendar, the electronic calendar including at least one calendar entry,the at least one calendar entry including at least one calendar entrylocation for indicating a geographic location of where the calendarentry is scheduled to occur (block 3432). The portal logic can provideat least one option associated with the at least one calendar entry(block 3434). The portal logic 299 can, in response to receiving a userselection of the at least one option, provide a map associated with theat least one calendar entry location (block 3436).

The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in hardware,software, firmware, or a combination thereof. At least one embodimentdisclosed herein may be implemented in software and/or firmware that isstored in a memory and that is executed by a suitable instructionexecution system. If implemented in hardware, one or more of theembodiments disclosed herein can be implemented with any or acombination of the following technologies: a discrete logic circuit(s)having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals,an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriatecombinational logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), etc.

One should note that the flowcharts included herein show thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of a possible implementationof software. In this regard, each block can be interpreted to representa module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or moreexecutable instructions for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s). It should also be noted that in some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder and/or not at all. For example, two blocks shown in succession mayin fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved.

One should note that any of the programs listed herein, which caninclude an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementinglogical functions, can be embodied in any computer-readable medium foruse by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus,or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system,or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Inthe context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” can be anymeans that can contain, store, communicate, or transport the program foruse by or in connection with the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium can be, for examplebut not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specificexamples (a nonexhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium couldinclude an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires,a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM)(electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), flash memory, anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory)(electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact discread-only memory (CDROM) (optical). In addition, the scope of thecertain embodiments of this disclosure can include embodying thefunctionality described in logic embodied in hardware orsoftware-configured mediums.

One should also note that conditional language, such as, among others,“scan,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orsteps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required forone or more particular embodiments or that one or more particularembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

It should also be emphasized that the above-described embodiments aremerely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for aclear understanding of the principles of this disclosure. Manyvariations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure.

Therefore, at least the following is claimed:
 1. A computer-implementedmethod, comprising: maintaining, by a processor, a group listing of aplurality of contacts, wherein each of the plurality of contacts isdesignated as a member of a common group, providing, by the processor, agraphical calendar interface box displaying an electronic group calendarwhose accessibility is restricted to members of the common group, theelectronic group calendar including a calendar entry including ascheduled date and time for the calendar entry, the calendar entryincluding a calendar entry location for indicating a geographic locationof where the calendar entry is scheduled to occur, wherein the calendarentry is scheduled for each of the members of the common group;providing, by the processor, a map option associated with the calendarentry on a user interface of the graphical calendar interface boxavailable to be viewed by members of the common group, the map optioncomprising a selectable location signifier, the selectable locationsignifier comprising an event identifier and a selectable indicator theevent identifier and the selectable indicator being associated with thecalendar entry, and in which a separate event identifier and a separateselectable indicator are provided for each additional calendar entry; inresponse to receiving a user selection of the map option, providing, bythe processor, a map associated with the calendar entry location,wherein the map is displayed within the graphical calendar interfacebox, to only partially obscure a month at a time view within thegraphical calendar interface box, and the user is a member of the commongroup, wherein the map indicates current locations of the members withrespect to the calendar entry location as determined by a globalpositioning system and further indicates expected arrival times; andsending, by the processor, an event reminder notification to at leastone member of the common group at a predetermined time before thescheduled time for a particular calendar entry on the electronic groupcalendar, wherein an event reminder notification for a particular memberof the common group is prevented from being sent when the particularmember of the common group is determined to be currently located at thecalendar entry location.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingaccessing a third party website to provide the map.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising receiving a user indication to create thecalendar entry, wherein the user indication is provided from one of themembers of the common group.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising, in response to receiving the user indication to create thecalendar entry, determining the map associated with the calendar entrylocation.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising storing thecalendar entry location.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theelectronic group calendar is provided via a group community portal.
 7. Asystem, comprising: a memory that stores executable instructions; and aprocessor, implemented on the system, that executes the executableinstructions, including: first logic configured to maintain a grouplisting of a plurality of contacts, wherein each of the plurality ofcontacts is designated as a member of a common group, second logicconfigured to provide a graphical calendar interface box displaying anelectronic group calendar whose accessibility is restricted to membersof the common group, the electronic group calendar including a calendarentry including a scheduled date and time for the calendar entry, thecalendar entry including a calendar entry location for indicating ageographic location of where the calendar entry is scheduled to occur,wherein the calendar entry is scheduled for each of the members of thecommon group; third logic configured to provide a map option associatedwith the calendar entry on a user interface of the graphical calendarinterface box available to be viewed by members of the common group, themap option comprising a selectable location signifier, the selectablelocation signifier comprising an event identifier and a selectableindicator the event identifier and the selectable indicator beingassociated with the calendar entry, and in which a separate eventidentifier and a separate selectable indicator are provided for eachadditional calendar entry; fourth logic configured to, in response toreceiving a user selection of the map option, provide a map associatedwith the calendar entry location, wherein the map is displayed withinthe graphical calendar interface box, to only partially obscure a monthat a time view within the graphical calendar interface box, and the useris a member of the common group, wherein the map indicates currentlocations of the members with respect to the calendar entry location asdetermined by a global positioning system and further indicates expectedarrival times; and fifth logic configured to send an event remindernotification to a member of the common group at a predetermined timebefore the scheduled time for a particular calendar entry on theelectronic group calendar, wherein an event reminder notification for aparticular member of the common group is prevented from being sent whenthe particular member of the common group is determined to be currentlylocated at the calendar entry location.
 8. The system of claim 7, thememory further storing sixth logic configured to access a third partywebsite to provide the map.
 9. The system of claim 7, the memory furtherstoring seventh logic configured to receive a user indication to createthe calendar entry, wherein the user indication is provided from one ofthe members of the common group.
 10. The system of claim 9, the memoryfurther storing eighth logic configured to, in response to receiving theuser indication to create the calendar entry, determine the mapassociated with the calendar entry location.
 11. The system of claim 10,the memory further storing seventh logic configured to store thecalendar entry location.
 12. The system of claim 7, wherein theelectronic group calendar is provided via a group community portal. 13.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with anexecutable computer program for associating a map with a calendar entryand that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to performoperations comprising: maintaining a group listing of a plurality ofcontacts, wherein each of the plurality of contacts is designated as amember of a common group, providing a graphical calendar interface boxdisplaying an electronic group calendar whose accessibility isrestricted to members of the common group, the electronic group calendarincluding a calendar entry including a scheduled date and time for thecalendar entry, the calendar entry including a calendar entry locationfor indicating a geographic location of where the calendar entry isscheduled to occur, wherein the calendar entry is scheduled for each ofthe members of the common group; providing a map option associated withthe calendar entry on a user interface of the graphical calendarinterface box available to be viewed by members of the common group, themap option comprising a selectable location signifier, the selectablelocation signifier comprising an event identifier and a selectableindicator, the event identifier and the selectable indicator beingassociated with the calendar entry, and in which a separate eventidentifier and a separate selectable indicator are provided for eachadditional calendar entry; providing, in response to receiving a userselection of the map option, a map associated with the calendar entrylocation, wherein the map is displayed within the graphical calendarinterface box, to only partially obscure a month at a time view withinthe graphical calendar interface box, and the user is a member of thecommon group, wherein the map indicates current locations of the memberswith respect to the calendar entry location as determined by a globalpositioning system and further indicates expected arrival times; andsending an event reminder notification to a member of the common groupat a predetermined time before the scheduled time for a particularcalendar entry on the electronic group calendar, wherein an eventreminder notification for a particular member of the common group isprevented from being sent when the particular member of the common groupis determined to be currently located at the calendar entry location.14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, theoperations further comprising causing the computer to access a thirdparty website to provide the map.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations furthercomprising causing the computer to receive a user indication to createthe calendar entry, wherein the user indication is provided from one ofthe members of the common group.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the operations furthercomprising causing the computer to, in response to receiving the userindication to create the calendar entry, determine the map associatedwith the calendar entry location.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations furthercomprising causing the computer to store the calendar entry location.18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13,wherein the electronic group calendar is provided via a group communityportal.